The Mustard Seed

The Mustard seed

“He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.  
Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.” 
He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
                         Matthew 13:31-33.
Here Jesus uses a parable to explain how His kingdom will grow.
At the time the mustard seed was the smallest seed used by farmers. Yet it could grow up to three meters or more under good conditions.
This is how the Jesus’ kingdom grew.
It started out under humble conditions. From a stable in an insignificant town in a back water of the mighty Roman empire. Yet it has grown over the centuries to reach into every country in the world.
At approximately 2.2 billion believers it is the largest religion in the world today.
Why? Because the hand of God is upon it and nothing man can do will stop it. The proof is as they say in the pudding.
Christianity today is the most persecuted religion in the world one statistic I read was that one Christian dies every eleven minutes for their faith somewhere in the world.  Meanwhile others languish in jail for their beliefs.
Yet despite all of this our faith is still growing.
The reason it’s growing is that it truly brings hope to all who embrace faith in Jesus Christ.
Christianity in it’s purest form is a faith of mercy. It shows God’s mercy toward mankind.
Jesus said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” 
            John 3:16,17.
The Apostle Paul reminds us,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:23,24.
He also states,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.” 
                                                                                                   Ephesians 2:8,9.
Christianity is God reaching down to man and saying, I love you. Despite your short comings and problems I love you.
He calls out,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  Matthew 11:28
Think about it.